Fostering in Hampshire

Many children and young people in Hampshire sadly come into care every day. Family conflicts and even illness can be some of the reasons why children are unable to live with their own families, but the main reason is neglect or abuse. TACT are recruiting foster carers in Hampshire to provide safe and caring homes to these children.

Full foster carer training will be provided, so no previous childcare experience is necessary. To start the application process, you just need at least one spare bedroom in your home, a caring and nurturing character – and lots of energy to provide a child with a secure and loving home. If this sounds like something that you could do, you could join our Fostering Hampshire Team!

Meet Our Team

We have a great team of staff within the Hampshire area. Christine McGillvary, our area manager for the region, is truly passionate about making a difference to children’s lives. She manages our great team of social workers that cover the South Coast – ensuring that our team of foster parents are fully supported. Christine has over 19 years’ experience in fostering, specifically within the charitable sector.

We are currently looking for new foster carers in all areas in and around Hampshire, including: Havant, Rushmoor, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Hart – and many more areas in the region.

Hear from our foster carers in Hampshire

Upcoming events in Hampshire

Christine looks after our fostering hampshire team

Why Foster in Hampshire with TACT?

TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity – enabling us to provide care for children on a national level. We reinvest any surplus income into providing more support and training for our team of foster carers.

Our role is to work closely with Hampshire County Council to provide excellent child-to-foster carer matching. Our team of foster carers in the Hampshire area are provided with local training and support to be able to facilitate this. We go over and above of what is required of a fostering charity, such as providing a dedicated education service, health service and an online foster carer portal.

Were more than just a fostering agency – we go above and beyond to look after our foster carers and the children they provide care for. Our TACT Connect service ensures that when children leave the care system, they have TACT’s support for life.

This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.

Ofsted Rating

24/7 Support

Fostering Allowances

Rated As ‘Good’ By Ofsted

Following an inspection in January 2022, Ofsted have announced that TACT London & the South has been rated ‘Good’ for its work with foster carers and looked after children.

“The fostering service provides a good quality of care, and the experiences and outcomes for children are very positive. Children, many of whom have complex needs, receive personalised care that meets their needs, and they are kept safe.” – Ofsted, 2022

Read the Latest Report

24/7 Support

As a member of our Fostering Hampshire team, it is important that support is delivered at a local level. Therefore, you will be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker who will be on hand to support you in your fostering journey.

Our Supervising Social Workers have manageable workloads, so that they are able to dedicate more time to you. The better we support you, the better you will be able to provide the care and guidance required to change children’s lives.

This is what we provide:

Full 24/7 support. Your Supervising Social Worker will provide most of your support, but we also have a dedicated out-of-hours support service for total peace of mind.
Foster carer portal. An online community of TACT foster carers and a place to find information, advice, training and other resources to help you with your day-to-day life as a foster carer.

Education service. Our specialist service provides support and advice to help ensure that the children in your care receive the best possible educational opportunities.
Health service. A service to provide young people in your care with full and ongoing physical and mental health monitoring.
Support groups. Our support groups operate in Hampshire and surrounding areas, providing you with a local platform to meet other carers in your area, and share experiences and knowledge. Many of our carers make new friends at these meetings.
Support for young people. Our Children’s Resource Workers provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events local to Hampshire.
Supporting your own children. We understand that your own children play an important role in the fostering household. As such, our Children Who Foster events provide your own children with an opportunity to socialise with other young people who make an amazing contribution to fostering.
Peer support. In some circumstances, peer-to-peer support may be available. These work by pairing newly approved foster carers with experienced TACT carers to provide another level of support.

Explore more reasons why to choose TACT…

Fostering Allowance Hampshire

Foster carers are highly skilled people, and our fees and allowances reflect this.

We are funded directly from Hampshire County Council. This funding supports our service, and our team of foster carers. If you join our Fostering Hampshire team, the total fostering allowance that you will receive will depend on factors such as the type of foster care you choose to provide, the number of young people that you care for, their age(s) and the complexity of their needs.

There are also additional payments for children’s birthdays, holidays and religious festivals. In addition to your fostering allowance, we also pay long service awards and a Refer a Friend fee (if you recommend someone who then goes on to be an approved foster carer with us).

View Our Fostering Allowances

Hear From Our Foster Carers in Hampshire

“She is the most beautiful part of my life.”

Sharntel, a TACT foster carer since 2015, cares for a 10-year-old girl with epilepsy and autism. Despite the challenges, Sharntel finds immense joy in their journey, celebrating small victories like eating independently. Her foster daughter has become the most beautiful part of her life and inspired her advocacy for children with disabilities.

“Both our children see him as their big brother”

Having children of your own shouldn’t prevent you from fostering. As long as you are matched carefully with a child, it can really benefit both your own children and the children you foster to have other children around.

“I love watching the way that she has developed and grown in confidence”

There is no doubt that fostering, while challenging, is also extremely rewarding. I love watching the way that our foster daughter has developed and grown in confidence. I am very proud that she has completed her college course and secured an apprenticeship.